Mann brothers



(No Model.) y

B.. A. WITTEMANN.

CARRIER FOR BOTTLES.

No. 562,058. Patented June 16, 1896.

NrrnD STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

RUDOLPH A, YITTEMANN, OF NFV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO VITTE- MANN BROTHERS, OF SAME PLACE.

CARRIER FoR BOTTLES'.

SPECIFICATIONfoi-ming part of Letters Patent No. 562,058, dated June 16, 1896.

Application filed February 18, 1895. Serial No. 538,746. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH A. WITTE- MANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carriers for Bottles, rte.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to carriers for fragile vessels, but more particularly to carriers for carboys, bottles, jugs, cans, and the like.

The main object of my invention is to provide a fragile-vessel case or carrier with efficient means for securing fragile vessels at their strongest parts--?l. e., at their bottoms and shoulders-so as to afford protection to their weaker parts.

A further obj ect is to provide a carrier-section with a hinged section 'or cover adapted to be thrown open and serve as a tilting stand or stationary fulcrum for the protected ves* sel, so that the latter may be raised in a convenient manner for emptying the contents thereof into a receptacle that may be easily placed in the proper relative position to receive such contents.

Another object is. to provide a simple, etlicient, and inexpensive device of the character described which will not require inside packing, thus avoiding the objection incident to the use of the latter, which usually becomes foul during transportation or storage.

Other objects are to provide efficient means for readily securing t-he vessel within andremoving it from the carrier, to provide simple and efficient means adapted to serve as a secret lock and thus prevent tampering with the contents of the vessel, and to provide stays or braces for one of the sections of the carrier adapted` to close from the inside the usual hand-holes in the sides of the carriersection. v

The invention will first be hereinafter more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

ln the drawings, Figure l is a general perspective view of the carrier with its protected vessel, illustrating the manner in which the said vessel may be tilted without its removal from the carrier to empty the same of its contents; and Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly broken away, to disclose several of the concealed parts, the carrier being shown in readiness for shipment.

The carrier A may consist of an upper section or member B, and a lower section or member B', and is made of any suitable material and of any preferred form.

The lower section B may be rectangular and .preferably comprises a front wall b, rear wall b', bottom b2, and end walls b3 b4, all of which are secured together in any suitable manner. Within this lower section and loosely arranged therein is a supporting plate or frame C, provided with cleats or stops c, extending upwardly therefrom, adapted to engage with the lower outer edge of a vessel, when resting upon said supporting-plate, to center and to prevent lateral movement of said vessel, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, though a recess in the supporting-plate, conforming to the contour of the base of the contained vessel, may be employed instead of the stops c, if preferred.` This supporting-plate has a buffer or series of buffers c on the lower surface thereof,which may be of rubber, spring metal, or any other suitable elastic substance, properly secured to the bottom in any preferred manner, soas to serve to yieldingly hold the vessel above the bottom b2 of the carrier to prevent breakage by sudden shocks or jars in handling said carriers. The end walls b3 b4 may have their upper portions substantially trapezoidal in form and preferably extend somewhat above the upper edges of the front and rear walls l) and b', respectively, and serve to provide inclosing ends for the upper section or cover B and as side supports for the frame D, the latter being provided with a central aperture d, adapted to engage the neck or shoulder of the vessel contained in the lower section, which aperture may be cushioned, if desired. rlhis frame is of any preferred form and may comprise two sections d d', having their ends rabbeted or tting into grooves in the end walls b3 b4, each section being preferably provided in its opposite edges ICO with spring-pressed concealed locks or bolts (Zwhich engage apertures d3 in said end walls in such manner that when a small stem or othersuitable device is forced into the opposed apertures the bolts may be disengaged, and the frame,or each section of the sam e,removed from the carrier for the insertion or removal of a vessel.

The upper section or cover B may be pivotally 4held to the lower section by a hinge e or otherwise and is preferably of the same form in cross-section as the upper portion of the end walls h3 b4. This section has the inclined sides e e2 and is preferably provided with apertures c3, adapted to be engaged by spring-pressed locks or bolts e4, arranged in the end walls of the lower section so as to form a secret locking connection between said upper and lower sections, which locking connection may be released by inserting a suitable device in the opposite apertures to simultaneously disengage the bolts c, at which time the cover may be readily thrown open. The cover is provided near its open ends with b races e5, which serve to strengthen said cover and to close from the inside the hand-holes e in the upper portion of the end walls of the lower section, the said lower section being preferably provided with a handle e7 to assist in handling the carrier when it is desired to remove some or all of the contents of the contained vessel. This construction permits the vessel to be rigidly but yieldinglyheld in the carrier and permits a convenient means for emptying the same.

The manner of using the carrier thus constructed is briefly as follows: The vessel, which in this case is a demijohn, being secured in the lower section, as illustrated and as hereinbefore described, and it being desired to remove some of the con tents of said vessel, it will be seen that by disengaging the bolts e4 the cover B may be thrown open, so as to cause one of its sides to rest against the rear wall b of the lower section. By grasping the handle c7 with one hand and inserting the other hand in one of the hand-holes e the lower section and its contained vessel may be tilted and with thel` upper section or cover as a fulcrum may be raised,` suiiiciently at the same time that the cover tilts to rest on the side e to permit some or all of the contents to flow into a suitable receptacle7 which may be placed below the mouth of said vessel beside or` upon the side e. By hinging the cover to the lower section or carrier proper, as described and shown, it is adapted to serve not only as a stationary fulcrum for raising thel lower section, but also as a means for gaging or locating the receptacle which is to receive the contents of the vessel to be emptied, so that such receptacle may be easily placed in proper position to receive such contents when the carriersection is raised. -When it is desired to remove or insert` a vessel in the carrier, it is necessary to first remove the frame D by disengaging the bolts (Z2 from the apertures of the end walls h3 andlrt.

Instead of the secret bolts for fastening the cover or section B to the lower section an orn dinary hasp or lock maybe provided, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. The frame D may be provided with any suitable 'fastening device or with hooks eS (shown in dotted lines in Fig. l) on one of its sections, which engage staples in the other section for securing said sections together, the said fastening bcing used instead of or to supplement the sccret locks d2.

The frame D may be in the form of a spider with a central aperture, or the same may bc hinged at one end to one of the end walls and adapted to be secured to the other, if so desired.l The lug or projection c may have buffers to abut against the lower edge of the vessel to receive any lateral shock, and other changes of a similar character may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I-Iaving thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, isd

1. A carrier for fragile vessels, comprising a lower vessel-containing section or carrier proper, and an upper section .or cover for the latter; said cover being hinged at one side to the upper part of said lower section so as to be turned over in position to rest upon the floor or other support therefor at one side of the carrier-section and serve as a iixed support or stationary fulcrum for raising said lower section; the latter being adapted to be raised above said stationary fulcruin sufficiently for pouring out the contents of a vessel contained therein into a receptacle located below the mouth of the raised vessel, while the cover also serves as a gage for properly locating the receptacle which is to receive the contentsof the vessel to be emptied, substantially as described.

2. In a carrier for fragile vessels, the combination with a vessel-containing section or carrier proper, the upper portions of the end walls of which are substantially trapezoidal in form, and a cover fitting the same, ofva frame supported in the upper part of said carriersection provided with an aperture to receive the neck of a vessel, and means for removably securing the vessel about its shouh der with its neck projecting through said aperture, together with a false bottom loosely arranged in said carrier-section and provided with means cooperating with said necksecur ing means for centering the vessel within the carrier and for holding the same centrally of `the carrier aloof from the sides thereof, in

combination with elastic buifers arranged nnn derneath said loose bottom adapted to yieldingly support the latter and the vessel resting thereon; whereby the vessel is centered and sustained against lateral movement in `proper position within the carrier by the en- IOO IIO

gagement therewith of said securing means at points thereof having the greatest strength, to wit, at its shoulder and marginal bottom edges, and also cushioned at its bottom, substantially as described.

3. A carrier for fragile vessels comprising a lower vessel-containing section or case, a frame arranged in the upper portion of said case provided with an aperture to receive the neck of a vessel, means for removably securing the neck of the vessel about its shoulder in said aperture, and an upper section or cover hinged to said lower section so that it maybe readily turned over in position to rest upon the floor or other support, at one side of the lower section, and means for locking the two sections together when closed; said cover being adapted when open to serve as a fixed support and gage adapting the lower section to be easily raised sufciently to permit the contents of the inclosed vessel to be emptied, and the vessel to receive the same to be easily located in proper position for receiving such contents, substantially as described.

4. A carrier for fragile vessels comprising a lower portion or carriersection proper having end walls the upper portions of which are substantially trapezoidal in form and provided with hand-holes, a frame removably se cured in the upper portions of said end walls and adapted to receive and removably hold the neck of avessel, and a cover having inside stays or braces adapted to close said handholes from the in side of the vessel; said cover being pivoted to the upper portion of said carrier-section so as to have its open ends closed by said end walls, and adapted to be turned upon its pivot at one side of the carrier-section so as to rest upon the floor or other support and form a stationary support or fulcrum, whereby the carrier-section may be raised above the cover sufficiently for pouring out the contents of the inclosed vessel, substantially as described.

5. A carrier for fragile vessels, comprising a vessel-containing section or carrier proper, a framesupported in the upper part thereof provided with an aperture to receive the neck of a vessel, and means for removably securing the vessel about its shoulder with its neck projecting through said aperture, together with a false bottom loosely arranged in said carrier-section, and provided with means cooperating with said neck-securing means for centering the vessel within the carrier, and for holding the same centrally of the carrier aloof from the sides thereof, elastic buffers arranged underneath said loose bottom adapted to yieldingly support the latter and the vessel resting thereon, a cover pivoted to said carrier-section, and concealed spring-pressed bolts for locking said carrier-section and cover together, so as to serve as a secret lock; said cover being adapted to be unlocked by simultaneously releasing the hold of both of .said bolts, whereby the vessel may be securely locked within the carrier and is centered and sustained against lateral movement therein by the engagement therewith of said securing means at points thereof having the greatest strength, and cushioned at its bottom, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RUDOLPH A. WVITTEMANN. Vitnesses:

J. F. WITTEMANN, HERMANN COLBERG. 

